


Friends First

by TheWinterCaptain



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 06:12:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11247960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWinterCaptain/pseuds/TheWinterCaptain
Summary: Basically I wanted to write this slow burn Bucky/Reader thing as my "getting back in the game" piece because I haven't written any fics in like over a year! The kinda plot is based on that they start building a really strong friendship with some cute moments and I haven't quite decided where it will go but we all know the reader totally has a crush on him I mean... who wouldn't





	1. Chapter 1

You recognised the look on his face. His eyes were glazed over, wide, and unblinking. Despite Steve moving off the couch and walking in front of him, he didn’t flinch.

“Bucky?” you said after Steve had left the room.

No reply. His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had gone white. He was unsettlingly expressionless.

“Buck,” you said again, leaning over to catch his attention. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” His eyes were still transfixed on some spot on the coffee table. You sighed.

 “Are you… maybe… having a panic attack?”

“What?” Bucky asked, finally blinking. “No, of course not.”

“Look, I know one when I see one, they’re not always tears and laboured breathing,” you said softly. “And I know sometimes it’s hard to break out of them, all you want to do is wallow in your thoughts, but it’s okay to try and let go.”

Bucky just frowned and you began to worry you said something wrong and completely misread the situation. You had a habit of assuming what people were going through and putting your foot in your mouth. You took a deep breath anyways and motioned for him to do the same. His face seemed to relax slightly but there was still an uncomfortable tension in the air.

“Ummm so yeah, do you know any card games? Let’s play cards right now, I won’t take no for an answer!” You jumped up and dug out a pack from the cabinet under the TV.

“Listen Y/N, I’m not sure if-“

“Nonsense! We’re playing. Now, what about Spit? Have you played that?” You split the deck and started explaining the game. He quietly laid out his cards in five piles and you smiled, as with every move that was made throughout the game, his reactions were quicker to keep up with yours.

“Spit!” He shouted, slamming his last card on the smaller pile. “Do I win?” He had a hint of a smile that made your heart flip.

“Not so fast old man, you take the small pile and I’ll take the big one, we keep going until you don’t have enough cards.”

“Okay,” he muttered, scrunching his face up in a look of concentration that was so endearing that you had to fight to supress a grin. You knew that every time he played video games with Sam or Steve he tended to be a sore loser, so you went a little slower than normal. When he won again, his face started to brighten; another summersault for your heart.

“Beginners luck,” you scowled, as he beat you once more and didn’t have enough cards left to play again. He smiled and pushed your shoulder lightly.

“I’m good at everything, what can I say?” he smirked. You wondered about asking what was on his mind earlier, but thought it might spoil the mood you worked hard for.

“Don’t get too cocky Barnes, we’ll have a rematch soon,” you said, mentally making a note that you can use that as your next excuse to hang out with him.

“I’ll hold you to it,” he said as he stretched from being hunched over. He stood up and put his hand on your shoulder, for just a second. “Thanks, Y/N.” You felt your cheeks warm at his touch and looked down.

Bucky walked out, a warm feeling in his heart as he recalled you playing Spit with Tony and Bruce, who could never come close to beating you.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo this is not fluffy at all I just really wanted to do a fight scene where the reader gets to kinda do the rescuing! Hope it's okay and that I got all the details right!

They were surrounded. Steve and Bucky were back to back with a layer of six HYDRA agents circling them. One lunged forward, gun cocked, but another stopped him, telling him to wait. The cogs were whirring behind the super soldiers’ eyes, looking for a strategy out. We were under orders not to kill the subjects, they were needed for questioning.

“Let’s just take ‘em out,” a woman growled, catching Bucky in a deathly stare. Something about her tight lips and wild eyes made it seem personal.

“Rogers is valuable to us. Besides, we’ll be meat on a platter if we don’t hand the asset back with his heart still beating. Boss doesn’t want to let this one get away again. Just stick to the plan.” The man who spoke couldn’t be taller than Natasha, but had an air of authority that seemed to put the woman in check.

“She seems to have a vendetta against Barnes, if she gets the chance, she’ll go for him. We need to move quickly,” Nat whispered through the com.

“Okay. You got the wire in place?” you asked, pulling the tear gas from your belt, and waited before pulling the tag. You spotted Nat slinking above on the warehouse staircase near the ceiling, attaching a metal wire to the overhead beams.

“Secured.”

You knew Steve had overheard everything through his earpiece, and the second he caught your eye, the plan was in motion. You pulled the tag and threw the silver canister. It spiralled and hit one of the agents on the back of the head, and it didn’t take long for you, Nat, Steve, and Bucky to whip out your gas masks. The white smoke was already billowing, and you leapt up to catch the wire that Nat had dropped. It was just short enough for it to carry you off the ground, letting you swing around and knock down three of the agents. Steve had dived at the tallest man there who was still standing, while Bucky dodged a shot from the begrudging woman.

As soon as you let go of the wire, Natasha was already sliding down it, firing a Widow’s Bite at the short man in charge. He crashed to the ground in convulsions, but you didn’t stay watching long enough to see if he passed out. Steve took out his guy quickly, and you, him, and Nat took on the three agents that you had kicked down. One of them had thrown the canister away with her eyes shut tightly to the other side of Bucky.

You punched as hard and as swift as you could, knowing that your size meant that you were a lot faster. You used speed to your advantage, jabbing his pressure points while keeping up a strong defence. When you started taking self-defence classes at a young age, you were taught to only fight enough until you got a chance to escape. But since joining the Avengers, you had to fight until the other went down. Of course, your moves weren’t as “acrobatic” as Natasha’s, and you didn’t have the pure brute force of Steve or Bucky, but you were tactical. You wondered how the tear gas didn’t affect him, until you noticed he was holding his breath. They all were. The HYDRA agent threw his weight into a punch but you dodged it by slipping past his arm and pushing it away. A moment of imbalance let you make a hit at his throat. Startled, he took a breath, and you kicked him between his legs. As he bent over in pain, it only took one strong elbow crashing down on his head to knock him out.

Everything was face paced, until you turned around to see the woman ripping off Bucky’s gas mask. She smacked him in the face with her gun in what seemed like slow-motion to you, and slipped on the mask without hesitation. Bucky tried to hold his breath, but his eyes were already watering and he gasped in pain. You froze. The can’s contents only covered one half of the room, where the woman and Bucky were.

 _Bitch_. You sprinted and kicked hard at the outside of her leg, kicking her knee in. A sharp crack echoed and she screamed, falling to the ground. You glanced around to see that Nat and Steve had taken care of the rest of them. You motioned for Steve to get Bucky out of there and turned back to the woman. You could almost tell that she was smirking with satisfaction under the mask. She had taken down the Winter Soldier after all. You grabbed her wrist tightly and pressed it against her back, twisting her arm so her elbow almost reached her tailbone.

“Say a word, and I’ll break your arm too.”

You cuffed her after digging your nails into her skin just a little bit more than necessary. She deserved it. After the team had them loaded up in three separate containment vans that were waiting outside, you finally rushed over to Bucky.

“Have you rinsed out his eyes yet? Can he breathe?” you asked, refraining from taking his hand.

“Not yet, here,” Nat handed you a bottle of water. “This is all we have.”

You winced as Bucky reluctantly opened his eyes and you could see the tiny crystals. You put him on his back and carefully poured the water over his face. He grunted and bit his lip. He looked so pale and already had tears streaming down his face. It was like a knife twisting in your heart. You started to feel nauseous.

“Let me do it,” Steve said, placing a soft hand on your shoulder. He took the bottle from you and you stood behind him, peaking over his shoulder.

“Be careful, please,” you begged.

“I’m not made of glass, doll,” Bucky coughed, spluttering mucous out of his mouth. Steve washed it away and sighed.

“That’s a good luck for you, bud.”

All you wanted was to reach out and stroke his hair and whisper that it would all be okay. But protocol and professionalism had to come first.


End file.
